COMPANY NEWS

COMPANY NEWS; EPITOPE H.I.V. TEST APPROVAL SENDS STOCK UP

Published: December 24, 1994

Epitope Inc.'s stock price jumped $3.875, to $24.875, following news yesterday that it had won regulatory approval to sell the nation's first H.I.V. detection test using saliva instead of blood samples. The company has been seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for the saliva method for more than three years.

The test is not approved for use in the home and can be purchased only through doctors. Epitope is currently conducting clinical trials on another test that would confirm the H.I.V. status of the saliva samples.